Your Turn: What This Election Day Means

Readers reflect on the civic right of voting in a democratic society.

Nov. 5, 2018

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CreditCreditAudra Melton for The New York Times

To the Editor:

What sets democracy apart from every other form of government is the input of ordinary citizens into their country’s future. While the period in between elections remains owned, perhaps, by the rich or otherwise powerful, it is on Election Day that the largely powerless have their say.

By simply marking a ballot, ordinary citizens can tell a president to get packing and to welcome a new tenant to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

This year, it is the turn of congressmen and women, governors and all the rest to sweat the outcome of this election. Outside of an asteroid’s hitting the earth, Wednesday morning’s headline will report how things turned out and just who have the jobs going forward. At that moment, you can shred all the polling results. The American people will have spoken.

It is why the most serious crime of all may be to prevent or deter someone from voting. Such efforts are like attempted murder, the murder of a nation. We take care of our jewels and the finishes on our cars. We should take better care of our right to vote. It is our most precious possession, our potential source for better tomorrows.

Bruce NeumanWater Mill, N.Y.

To the Editor:

For Americans, this Election Day is a moment like no other. Never in the annals of human history has an individual, holding such survival-threatening military power, been so ill equipped to exercise it reasonably.

On display for all to see, virtually every day, are President Trump’s profound mental ineptness, grave psychological instability and moral bankruptcy. He openly, repeatedly and defiantly flouts the very underpinning of American democracy — our basic institutions of balanced governance, the rule of law and the primacy of truth.

Let’s not be fooled. Of his self-touted achievements, any economic gains, including employment increases, spring from a Treasury-crippling tax cut lavished by Republicans on their wealthy handlers. The bill for this outrage will diminish the futures of nearly all Americans.

No matter the effort or inconvenience, Americans must vote on Tuesday, applying the fruits of serious reflection, clear-mindedness and courage. The paramount issue is whether we can check the power of a patently unfit demagogue to squander what in fact really makes America great.

David G. O’BrienMount Sinai, N.Y.

To the Editor:

Iused to negotiate labor contracts for management, meaning that I negotiated with people with whom I did not agree but with whom I had to have a continuing relationship. Kind of like our country right now.

On Tuesday, we will have an election, and there will be winners and losers. How do we repair the damage of all the hate spewed over the last two years? A few suggestions:

Recognize that while we may disagree, we need one another. Acknowledge that each side has beliefs and opinions, and has a right to those beliefs and opinions, even if we disagree. Realize that there are areas where we agree, identify those areas and work on them first.

There are people on both sides who spew hate and discontent; ignore them. If someone like that is in a position of authority, do not react to everything he says. Deal only with the things that are important and then only with the issues. Ignore the emotions (as hard as that may be).

Lastly, both sides love this country, and that is worth preserving. It is going to be hard work, and compromises will have to be made. Know that you don’t have to win it all now, that you can take a step toward your agenda and another later.

Most times, people get further faster by working with their partners than by constant fighting over every little item.

Bruce HigginsSan Diego

To the Editor:

It’s been said that irony is an obsolete concept.

If the blue wave is only half the size we’ve been led to expect, the ultimate irony will be that Donald Trump has made America great again, by waking up the most basic democratic activity: exercising the vote.

Next time we might even vote for something.

Anne BernaysCambridge, Mass.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A26 of the New York edition with the headline: Your Turn: What This Election Day Means. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe